The class of 2024 commencement ceremony will take place at 6 p.m. June 5 at the Wolstein Center at Cleveland State University. In lieu of a guest speaker, four Shaker students will give speeches at graduation.
This change comes after former Secretary of Housing and Urban Development Marcia Fudge (’71) withdrew from giving the commencement address after facing backlash for her past support of Lance Mason. It is the first time there will be no alumni guest speaker since 2018. Shaker Schools Foundation Executive Director Holly Coughlin said the district has invited a guest speaker every year since 2019, when Dr. David Glasner, now superintendent, was interim high school principal.
Principal Eric Juli said the speaker change will have little effect on commencement. “Speeches are working as they always work; we are just not having a guest speaker,” he said.
Tickets are given only to families of each graduating senior, who may distribute them as they wish. “Every family gets 10 tickets for the Wolstein Center, which is big enough that if people need more than 10 tickets we are able to give them extra,” Juli said. Seniors who want to request more tickets should ask Juli for them.
Along with Juli and Superintendent David Glasner, four students will speak instead of the usual three. The speakers are Amari Chandler, Ceci Favret, Devan Bhatia and Trinity Kelly. Students who wish to speak at commencement can contact Juli, who considers requests with help from colleagues. He and colleagues also think of students “who we think might be good speakers,” Juli said.
Speaker Devan Bhatia said he was contacted by Juli and Laurie Brem. “They offered that I do a two- to three-minute speech at graduation, if I was interested,” Bhatia said. He said that student speakers are encouraged to talk about their high school memories, experiences and plans for the future.
Bhatia said he was originally too nervous to deliver a speech at commencement. After some deliberation, he changed his mind. Said Bhatia, “It is a once-in-a-lifetime event. That’s why I’m going to give it a shot.”
Journalism II Reporter Alyssa Becote contributed reporting.
